Born to Die
by Antigone97
Summary: AU: Arthur re-lives and remembers his last moments on Earth before his life is taken away from him; all because of one mistake, one sin and one last car ride. Mainly USUK and then a bit of FRUK.


A/N: This is my second Hetalia fanfiction, but the first one to be written in almost a year. I've just been on Hiatus for a long time and decided I needed a break from this website. I originally wanted to call this National Anthem and base it on the song of the same name by Lana Del Rey, but I'm not sure if there's one out already like that, so I decided to use 'Born to Die'. It's a really good song, so I suggest you listen to it, or listen to Lana in general. Anyway I'm off topic, but I hope you enjoy this.

Notes and Warnings: This story is AU. This story may also contain explicit material including gore, suicidal tendencies, smut and anything else, but it's highly unlikely. If you're not interested in this stuff then I suggest you find another story. Thank you and have a good day.

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Chapter 1: Revelations

Arthur was closed to the rest of the world, as his body marinated in the surrounding vastness of nothing. He didn't know where he was or what he was doing, but he felt so much lighter than usual, like a heavy burden was taken from his shoulders; leaving him physically and mentally free.

Eyes closed, he continued to float into nothingness, until he felt his body touch something wet and cold; it was grass. Arthur ran his hands on the ground, lifting his body up and taking a look at his new surroundings. He couldn't remember coming outside, or that he would fully bare. Something in the pit of his stomach didn't feel right to him. Something strange was going on.

Trying to find something to cover himself with, he noticed that his body looked pale, almost sickly. His heart dropped when he also noticed that his body was translucent. Mentally slapping himself, he started to panic. He had to be dreaming; this was nothing more than a dream, or some spell going horribly wrong. He tried to remember what he did, but he couldn't remember anything; nothing at all. Arthur paced back and forth, pushing his brain to its limit before tiring himself out.

He was naked in an unknown, wooded area and couldn't remember a thing. He thought of possible explanations on what could have happened. He could have been drugged, or mugged by a gang of men and left for dead here, or something worse. He could have poisoned himself on accident for all he knew. Maybe he was dreaming or hallucinating now. That had to be the answer.

Arthur looked at the sky to tell the time of day, only to have his whole world crash down on him, literally. Instead of clouds and the sun's rays, the earth hovered over him. He was staring right at the earth, the place he lived and called home. Arthur stared in awe as he could see some of the other planets in the sky as well as the stars. He knew that his senses were working, but couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was not dreaming.

Arthur slumped to the ground, clutching his head. Nothing made sense to him. He started to question his mental health, even going as far as to diagnose himself as insane. He couldn't be insane! There had to be a good explanation for this. He was about to give up when he saw a book a few feet away from him. He questioned the book being in a forest, but decided he had nothing else to try and read it. Maybe it would have some important information in it, or something that could explain what was going on.

Walking over and picking up the book, he read the title; 'Arthur Kirkland: 1983-2006.' He read the cover over and over to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but the more he read it, the more he came to realize that he was possibly dead. It was something he didn't want to believe in, but it sort of explained his current situation. He slumped back down to the ground, catching his breath.

Arthur really wanted this to be a dream, or some type of game or trick, but reasonable ideas couldn't justify this; he was truly dead. And if he was dead, then the world around him must be heaven, or some type of paradise. He could be in purgatory now if he knew. Death was something he rarely feared, but one thing stumped him though; how did he die?

Arthur looked back down to the book again, tracing his fingers against the embedded words on its hard surface. If this booked has his name on it, then it had to tell him what happened to him during his last hours? He just wanted to remember his life before this incident, the life he had as a human being. Opening the cover to the first page, he shielded his eyes from the bright light that emerged.

He felt his mind being pulled and pushed around, until he felt that same feeling of nothingness again. With the book still in his hand, the pages began to flip on their own as Arthur was shown a quick slide show of his life as a boy to his preteen years. The pages began to slow down, causing time around him to slow as well. Arthur felt his memories slowly come back to him, as the book stopped moving.

The scene before him stopped to his high school years. Arthur took the time to soak in the memory as he saw his younger self walk among the halls. This felt so weird to him. It was like watching his life as a documentary. What was even strange was that the book recorded every moment and had written dates and times of different events, like the one happening now. He didn't understand why the book stopped here. Arthur saw nothing important, until he saw his younger self talking to someone.

The two of them seemed to be having a good conversation. Arthur examined the features of the other teen; tall with blonde hair and blue eyes that were covered by glasses. He saw him as just another person that wasn't important. He wanted to change the page of the book, but stopped when he heard the other person say his name; Alfred.

Arthur repeated the word in his head, but didn't really know who this Alfred person was. He just kept repeating it over and over, until it clicked. Arthur felt a growing warmth inside his chest as he continued to repeat the name. It was his special friend, Alfred; Alfred F. Jones. Although Arthur couldn't stand him sometimes, he secretly had a soft spot for him. If it was his friend, then why did he have this feeling in his heart? Arthur continued to watch and remember. It was all he could do now.

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Hoped you enjoyed. Positive feedback and constructive criticism is always welcomed.


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